Alex

In this story we follow Adam and Louise, both of whom are currently in the UK, but who are trying to flee for their own reasons. Louise is a 70 something retiree who's husband passed away about three years prior. She is still coping with being alone after many years together. Her character is interesting to me because she reminds me a lot of my grandparents and that of her generation where she has prejudice beliefs but doesn't view them that way. One quote in particular she says “I don't mind a foreign doctor as long as they can speak intelligible English.” There were many a time that I rolled my eyes as the things she said, although I know it wasn't mean maliciously it was very cringe. Then we add a layer of her finding out that she is part North African this doesn't change much if any of her view points. Again not malicious.

Then we have Adam, he's in his 20's who is Muslim from a middle eastern country. Adam is introduced to us as fugitive. For brevity's sake, in this dystopian story UK immigrants can come over to work for a decade and after that decade they can choose to be deported back to their country of origin or continue working, but if they continue to stay they have to continue working until they decide to be deported. IE they are not allowed to retire. Adam is attempting to flee back to his home country, but he has not met the ten year minimum, so there in lies his problem.

Adam and Louise are an odd pairing on the offset, but it works. I really enjoyed the conversations between the two given their age, socioeconomic and class status. I feel like there was a lot of empathy from both sides and I really enjoyed their frank conversations about their lives and how the immigration affected both those that migrate and those that are natural born citizens.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕪 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝔸𝕞𝕖𝕤
Genre: YA Fantasy I Pirates I Female Rage
Release date: January 7, 2025 (out now!)
Length: 386 pages

Thank you to @coloredpagesbt and @2furiosa for the opportunity reading this physical arc!
This is another case of Alex needed to read this one because that cover sucked me in! 

We follow Adrasteia Dantes (Adra), a 17 year old captain of the Worldeater. After her half-brother Cameron attacks their father and robs him of a priceless treasure map, he leaves him a shell of who he once was. Adra is laser focused on changing her and her crew's plan for the sole purpose  of tracking Cameron down to kill him. While on the quest to retrieve her father's map and claim the treasure for herself she comes upon a ship with a crew of people all drowned. The ship is not sunken, how is this possible? Adra and her crew encounter The Devourer, a monster of the ocean with a vendetta against pirates and her sole purpose is to kill all pirates she comes across. Adra must attempt to quell The Devourer in order to complete her mission.

My thoughts:
Queer pirates, revenge and monster horror, oh my! I enjoyed this story of found family and female rage. I stepped out of my typical type of books I read with this one, this is my very first YA horror. I love a pirate story (please recommend some to me in the comments!) and equally I love the found family trope. I think where this one kind of faltered a bit for me is because the plot didn't feel fully flushed out. Yes, Adra is solely focused on finding her half-brother Cameron and kill him, but it is unclear why she wants to do so. Cameron didn't kill anyone, yes he attacked her dad and stole something from him (not very Gucci Cameron). I would have loved for a deeper explanation of Adra and Cameron's childhood to find out what the backstory was that lead us to this story. I think ultimately I just wanted a little bit more from the story. There is a side plot of romance between two girls in this story (yay for sapphic pirates), but the focus of the book is definitely the fantasy aspects. I personally prefer the ratio of mostly fantasy to some romance myself.

 The Last by D. Ellis Overrtun
Genre: Science Fiction
Release date: August 25, 2024

From the first chapter I knew I was going to love this story, we are introducted to Halvor and he is exactly the type of character that I love. Distrusting of robots (because duh have you read I, Robot) and sarcastic as all get out. I was hooked. We eventually meet our other two main characters James and Alicia. This book is what I would call hard sci-fi, its the type of book that demands your attention. It is quite dense in a good way, the character development and those fine details were so intricately done and important to the storyline. This one took me a bit to settle into as we started to get more in depth with the characters, but I am so glad I was selected as a reader for this independently published novel. If you are a science fiction affianodo, you will enjoy this one. Thank you to Zooloo's Book Tours for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review. 

The Last by D. Ellis Overrtun
Genre: Science Fiction
Release date: August 25, 2024


From the first chapter I knew I was going to love this story, we are introduced to Halvor and he is exactly the type of character that I love. Distrusting of robots (because duh have you read I, Robot) and sarcastic as all get out. I was hooked. We eventually meet our other two main characters James and Alicia. This book is what I would call hard sci-fi, its the type of book that demands your attention. It is quite dense in a good way, the character development and those fine details were so intricately done and important to the storyline. This one took me a bit to settle into as we started to get more in depth with the characters, but I am so glad I was selected as a reader for this independently published novel. If you are a science fiction affianodo, you will enjoy this one. Thank you to Zooloo's Book Tours for a copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I came away from this one really positive. Creating a new kind of monster (rarkyn) for the purposes of telling this story is not something I have seen done often (other than hobbits in Tolkien). I was fully invested from the first line. We are dropped right into the story and we as the reader is taken on a ride. I love these types of intros but I know they are not for anyone. I loved the back story of the lore that came along with this new mythical creature. I found it equal parts entertaining and intriguing.

This is now my second book by Jackson-Brown (courtesy of Hear Our Voices) and the author always hooks me in with the messiness that is life of the FMC and weaves in such a poetic and well written story. Untethered follows this blueprint but somehow there is so much than unfolds here that knocked me off of my feet.

Our FMC Katia is a perfect example of the burdens that we as black women face consistently. We are looked at as “strong” and as the backbone of the family because we have to be. It's not out of choice of out of sheer will to provide for our families needs whatever those may be. I know far too many women in my life that fit the archetype: my mom, aunts, and elders fall perfectly into this and it's because it's so ingrained in our society. The novel eloquently showcases why it's important to divorce black women from this “ideal” of the superwoman mentality of having to burden all of them demands of the family PLUS our own struggles.
The parallels in my own life were impossible to miss, truly I was internally reflecting about my own decisions and why I am a peace maker in my own family as I read through this.

I struggle with how to put my thoughts into this review because it has so deeply impacted me. Untethered solidified Jackson-Brown as an auto buy author. This beautiful novel releases Tuesday, December 3, 2025.


Thank you to Hear Our Voices and Angela Jackson-Brown for an advanced reader copy of the book.

I really enjoyed my first holiday romance of the year! What a solid start, in this first story to the Valentine Nook Chronicles we meet a great cast of characters, I can't wait to see how their relationships develop. This prequel was fairly short at 220 pages and 5.5 hours for the audiobook.

We meet Alexander, a Royal, who's brother was stood up at the altar. To escape the tabloids they escape London for snowy Aspen during Christmas. Alexander is quite a grinch and he meets Haven. The two are immediately attracted to one another. Haven, a farmer is scrapping by as she works hard to pay off medical debts left to her when her parents passed away. Alexander, hate Christmas and it doesn't take long for Haven to start chiseling away at his heart.

Although I enjoyed the character development but I will say that is was a little off putting with the insta attraction. Especially as Haven's inner dialogue mentions how there are many hot men just like Alexander in Aspen. It is very heavy on the attraction between the two and I could have done with a bit more of a back story.

I loved this sapphic monster romance, I devoured this novella. It is short at 111 pages, but I loved this one. Highly recommend! If you have arachnophobia, this one is probably not for you.

Thank you to @coloredpagesbt for the opportunity to read this novella in advance of the paperback release!

This is only my second book by St. Clair, oh the spice never lets me down. This was definitely lighter on spice (even for me) which I enjoyed.

This is the second installment in St. Clair's fairy telling series, fear not, you don't need to read the first book to jump into this one. I didn't. Each book within the series follows one of the seven brothers in each of their seven kingdoms.

At only 171 pages, it's a quick read for anyone wanting to take a short detour and get into another world. Be warned that each of their stories deals with love at first sight so that may be a deal breaker for some.

Epic doesn't even do it justice. Orka, you baaaad bitch! I love her so much. I feel like mothers can relate to her. Because yes, you can kill my husband but taking my kin??? Hell no, I would murder everyone until I find out where my son is too. Damn, I don't blame her. I know there are other povs (Elvar and varg) but Orka is in my top 2 of best fictional female characters.

I really loved this one. It even made me cry! It was both so beautifully written and had so much action. Such a quick read that pulled at my heart strings. I am in a romantasy mood (words I never thought I would be putting together in a singular sentence) and this story fulfilled my need for a sweet and beautiful story. I own another book by Lee, Fake Dates and Mooncakes. I am convinced there is nothing by Lee that I won't absolutely love. I highly recommend if you're looking for a gorgeous romantasy, look no further.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this book before release day. All of the opinions are my own.
This story was so romantic, I found myself falling in love with the prose espeically when it came to the two love interests in the story. The way the romance between our love interests was written reminded me of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, just so beautiul it brought me to tears at times. Parts of this book felt so whimsical, then you had the juxstaposition of the action scenes. I felt this story had a great balance between romance and fantasy, it didn't feel too heavy handed on either end. As most of you know by now, I love banter in a romantasy and this one did not disappoint. I cannot wait to read more from Kwan.

 Thank you to Literary Media Tours and Sariah Wilson for the opportunity to read an advanced copy before release in November.
WOW. I enjoyed this one. Lia as a character is humanly flawed and so relatable. She is such a loyal friend, sister, and member of the court. She goes through so much during this book, not to mention she is secretly training with the best (of course being the only woman to do so). I found her so intriguing and the author made me feel so much for both her and Jason. I couldn't help but root for them and their relationship.

As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I love enemies to lovers and this one is no exception. This is my favorite type of romantasy: equal parts fantasy and romance. I didn't feel that either of these elements outweighed the other. The family found in this book warmed my heart because Lia really went through it. The women in Lia's Adelphia really balanced each other and I enjoyed hearing about all of their personalities.

The ending though! All in all, I highly recommend it. A Tribute in Fire will be available on November 1, 2024 (on KU!) and is the first in a series: the second novel, A Vow of Embers, is released on October 28, 2025. I'm going to need book two injected into my veins immediately lol. 

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Genre: Suspense
Released: May 22, 2018

I started this book on September 23rd and finished it at 1 am the following morning. I could not put this down, I quite literally have not stopped thinking about it since I read it. This book is the epitome of a book that is a great and essential for all readers, but it is not a fun time. I don't have many triggers but this hit me with such force.

Claudia's desperation to find her best friend Monday was equal parts intense and heart wrenching. I had to read this in one sitting because I knew it would haunt me not knowing. The story of a black teen gone missing, majority of the adults in this story (police, parents, school officials) push off the lack of communication between Monday and Claudia as friends that have fallen out. The two were inseparable, there was no falling out, yet very few adults take the disappearance seriously.

I found myself feeling so helpless, hopeless and angry the majority of this book. As a society we know that the black, brown and indigenous girls who disappear are not often looked for as intently as their white counterparts. This story focuses on socioeconomic inequality, race, geographic location as they play into the disappearance and search (or lack thereof) of Monday.

The ending simply stole my breath away. I still cannot wrap my head around it. I don't want to give anything away, however just check the triggers. While this was a hard read and moreover, it was an important one.

Thank you to @coloredpagesbt @ireadya and @lamargiles for the physical finished copy of this fantastic book perfect for Halloween being right around the corner.

This is my first book by Giles and it didn't disappoint! I was able to put this one down, it started off a bit slow building the scene we're out main character, Cade is not only a black kid in a vastly white majority school but he's a big black kid at that on a scholarship at a prep school. The micro aggressions mentioned in the book were all too familiar, one quote that has stuck in my head was said by a minor character regarding our MMC “they should be happy to be here.” Now Sheila if you don't take several seats. When questioned she said she was referring to the athletes but not sure if I buy that. This book was unputdownable and I flew through it so quickly. I loved the pacing and the character development of Cade and the connection between his family and his childhood friends. For me, this book was the perfect blend of horror and supernatural elements. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to dip their toes into horror like me.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc. I found this story to be so unique. We have two feuding sisters (feuding to put it extremely lightly) that outright hate one another. The first line struck me and I was hooked from the beginning. Sutton is missing and her sister Casey is upset that she is missing but who can blame her when she's had to deal with a sister like Sutton? Also demeaning her and making her feel less than, there didn't seem to be much love at the outset of this story. As the reader I was left to wonder if Casey hurt her sister, Sutton is found alive early on in the story, but the real question of Sutton's disappearance isn't if she was dead but why she disappeared and how come she was gone for so long with no word of her whereabouts. The more Casey starts to uncover about her sister and her secrets, the more questions she has.

The Shadow Sister kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire ride and I love a thriller. I related to being at odds with your sibling. After all, it is a natural part of being a sibling, and having disagreements, but I enjoyed the deep character work that Meade put into this work. This is the first book that I have read by this author, I can't wait to read more.

Thank you to RR Book Tour and Gary Bengier for a gifted arc of this book in exchange for this review.

This book hooked me from the very beginning, I would recommend it if you're into intermediate or hard sci-fi (there is a glossary with hyperlinked terms if you are reading the ebook version which is helpful). I found the timelines very easy to differentiate from one another and the voice for each character well defined. The dynamic of interpersonal relationships and how humanity adapts (or doesn't

I wanted to love this book, the premise sounded like something I would really enjoy. A sci-fi horror novel with AI was so interesting to me. Even though I know many people that read this book and hated it I thought I would give it a try (I love reading books that people dislike). I should have stayed far away because there are so many issues with this book. I pushed through to finish this book hoping it would get better (spoiler: it didn't).

The first thing I will say is if you are someone who has struggled with fertility or delt with child loss, I would not not pick this up. Yes, those two topics can be approached with care and spoken about in a way that sheds light on such a taboo topic. However, this is not that book. The FMC faces so much misogyny, sexism, and just downright abuse from multiple male characters in this book. I have to ask why an author would echo sentiments that I am sure all women have heard at some point in our lives. I have not experienced child loss or infertility myself and I found this so insensitive and just plain cruel. I considered that the author is from Botswana and maybe there is some nuance that I am missing, but I cannot understand why an author thought this was okay to write down.

There is a term in this book that I could not stand, but it was used so much. The ‘women' that carry children are AI and instead of a womb it is referred to as a wombcubator and I hated it so much. Just the cherry on top of my hate sundae.

I have come to expect the moon from Kuang and still, this book far exceeded my expectations. It was a good time, but not a fun time—so much death and destruction throughout the book from beginning to end. I don't think any author can make me feel the gambit of emotions as she does. Rin has gone through so much during the three books, I am sad to see it end. Rin is the poster child for female rage and honestly, I enjoyed every second of it.

I do want to reiterate that this is a grim dark fantasy, please make sure to review the triggers before starting this series. 

Thank you to Rebecca Rennick for the e-ARC copy and the ability to read this novel early!
Pop star Alexandria (whose real name is Lottie) is tired of her momager dictating every aspect of her life, her mother controls her musical style, the events she attends, and even her boyfriend. Lottie decides now that the contract with her mother and record label is coming to end to seize the opportunity to start over in a new place where no one knows her with the help of her loyal friend Luna. The town of Snowberry, Montanta is a quaint town where everyone knows everyone, but they are not on social media so her secret idenity is safe. Or is it? Hunter is a shapeshifter Mayor of the quaint town of Snowberry. The two are immediately attracted to one another, but there is a caveat, Lottie knows nothing of shapeshifters, much less that the town of Snowberry is filled with creatures such as fairies, nymphs, elves, and so much more. This was such a steamy and romantic read. I fell in love with the way that Hunter made Lottie feel seen and comforted her when it was so clear she never received much needed validation. I can't wait to read more books for the many characters we were introduced to in this novel.  

Impeccable, brilliant, spectacular, masterpiece. Just wow. I cried multiple times and I am not over chapter 86. Not in the slightest. My heart hurts. I need to go hug a puppy or something. 

Babyyyyy. I have never read anything like this book and I don't think I will again. Every page was something different, I was so enthralled I didn't want to put it down. Just wow. I was so confused in the best possible way. 

Mannnnnnn. I love this book. Please read it asap!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very whimsical story and reminded me of the never ending story a bit. My favorite character hands down is Shin. Man, give it up one time for him. I can't say too much without spoiling it but I really enjoyed the character development of all of the characters we meet along the way. 

 Thank you to Amber Toro for the opportunity to read this book as an arc before its release.
As an avid Science Fiction fan for my entire life, my bar for science fiction is fairly high.
Umbra, meet and far surpassed my exceptions. I recently finished watching The Expanse and this book hit that same note for me. The adventures that the crew goes on really had me on the edge of my seat. No need to worry if you haven't read or are not a seasoned sci-fi reader, this book is an easy read to get into.

Amber has a prose that draws you in and quite literally doesn't let up until the very end.
I found myself not being able to put this book down. I believe I read this arc in less that four days.
As a mood reader, it's difficult to stick to one book but this had me HOOKED! It has something for everyone: sentient ship, banter, romance sub plot, adventures, action, and parent child relationship strain. Literally I found myself falling in love with every aspect of this book.

The action scenes! I need to take a moment and talk about how enthralling Amber's writing is. I found myself gasping out loud and even physically cringing at some of the outcomes of those scenes. I could go on about how well the multiple POV's were written. I connected with each of our main characters: Hinata, Feyja and Skyla were all so different but cohesive. They all brought a new perspective to the table. Skyla is our FMC and by the end of the book I understood her journey. She really tore at my heart strings, especially that ending! The romance sub plot is a slow burn and I am OBSESSED with it. Give me all the pinning, it was everything.
Not me about to cry while also NEEDING more! I cannot wait until book two comes out! I need it EXPEDITIOUSLY.
 

Destruction. That is the central theme that seems to tie all that happens throughout this book. The year is 1715, our FMC Maria is a woman that quite literally goes against the current. She is sharp witted, bucks societal and religious norms. She just wants to live her life on her terms, unfortunately, the year is 1715 and that is impossible. 

This story is rather dark and I feel that is important to note. Maria is consistently stalked by destruction, I feel it would be easy to say that the people that did Maria wrong are evil or terrible, but I think when we really look, they are all products of their environment. Particularly Maria's mother. In the eyes of 2024, she seems like such a terrible person that must hate her daughter. I don't see that, I would encourage the reader to see things from the prospective of a mother born in the last 1600s (where laws were based on religion), she was purely wanting the best for her daughter and she advised her so. She truly believed that if Maria did not follow Gods laws that she would be sentenced to eternal damnation. I'm not saying that is good, bad or indifferent but I strongly recommend placing yourself in the place of these characters and what the real people in these time periods endured. Rueckert made such multidimensional characters, I'll be thinking about them for a long time to come.